Filippo Ganna made cycling history by beating the UCI hour world record by over a kilometre with his attempt in Switzerland on Saturday.

The INEOS Grenadiers rider was trying to beat the previous mark of 55.548km set by his team-mate Dan Brigham in August.

Ganna achieved it in style as he finished with a distance of 56.792km, a full 1.244km ahead, achieving his feat at the Tissot Velodrome in Grenchen.

The double world time trial champion, who signed a four-year extension with INEOS in August, said: "To arrive at this amazing goal is fantastic for me, and all the INEOS Grenadiers staff who worked for a long time to arrive at this result. This result is amazing. 56.792 kilometres is not bad!

"Next time maybe I'll try in another part of the season with fresher legs and we can go higher again.

"This result is amazing. Now I'm thinking about recovery and trying to celebrate together with everyone here."

Brigham also congratulated Ganna on taking his record, saying: "A massive kudos to Filippo for that historic ride. I know the commitment, determination and work that's needed to put in a performance like that.

"It's fantastic that this ambitious project came together on the night. Having my record beaten by Filippo was always part of the plan and it's great to have such a deserving team-mate as the new record holder."

Mathieu van der Poel has pleaded guilty to the common assault of two teenage girls in Sydney on the eve of the UCI Road World Championships finale.

The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider was charged on two counts after an altercation with the pair, aged 13 and 14, whom he alleges to have been knocking on his hotel room door.

He was further fined 1,500 AUD (£909), though he has been allowed to leave the country following the return of his passport.

Van der Poel, who was taken into custody by New South Wales Police, intends to appeal against the conviction, according to his lawyer Michael Bowe.

"We went through the relevant events that occurred, he was arrested by police, was interviewed by police and said certain things to the police," he told Reuters.

"Mathieu agreed with some of those allegations. On discussing it was agreed he should plead guilty."

Belgium's Remco Evenepoel went on to win th World Championship on Sunday. Van der Poel, among the pre-race favourites, withdrew with 230 kilometres to go.

Mathieu van der Poel abandoned the UCI Road World Championships on Sunday after he was left "mentally broken" from being arrested in Sydney.

The Dutchman was charged with two counts of common assault at Kogarah Police Station following an alleged incident involving two teenage girls at a hotel on Saturday evening.

Van der Poel was granted conditional bail by New South Wales Police and will appear at Sutherland Local Court on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old had been among the favourites to be crowned world champion in Wollongong, but withdrew with 230 kilometres to go after revealing he only got back to his hotel from the police station at 4am.

Christoph Roodhooft, boss of the Alpecin-Deceuninck team Van der Poul rides for, said: "It was really unexpected. Obviously there were children bouncing at his door [in the hotel] and after the third he was p***** off with them. He went out and it seemed like it was children, teenagers, and someone called the police and they asked him to go to give an explanation.

"He was asked by the police to tell them what happened, then he could sign [papers] and then he could go. There were children in the corridor playing and he went out to ask them to stop but obviously not in the right way."

Roodhooft added of Van der Poel's withdrawal from the race: "We didn't talk about the situation, but sporting wise he was really disappointed. He didn't sleep all night and mentally he was a bit broken. He was expecting a lot from today and he did everything he could in the last two months after his bad Tour de France. He found joy and happiness again in cycling and was hoping for a nice race again."

Prior to the start of the race, Van der Poel explained what had occurred the night before.

He told Sporza: "It's true, yes. There was a small dispute. It was about noisy neighbours and they are quite strict here. I went to bed early and many children in the hallway of my room found it necessary to knock on the door continuously.

"After a few times, I was done with it. I didn't ask so nicely to stop. Then the police were called, and I was taken. I wasn't back in my room until four o'clock."

NSW Police said in a statement: "About 10.40pm (Saturday 24 September 2022), a 27-year-old man was at a hotel on The Grand Parade, Brighton-Le-Sands, when he was allegedly involved in a verbal altercation with two teenage girls – aged 13 and 14.

"It's further alleged the man then pushed both teenagers, with one falling to the ground and the other being pushed into a wall causing a minor graze to her elbow.

"Officers from St George Police Area Command attended and arrested a 27-year-old man shortly after. He was taken to Kogarah Police Station and charged with two counts of common assault.

"He was granted conditional bail to appear at Sutherland Local Court on Tuesday 27 September 2022."

INEOS Grenadiers rider Pavel Sivakov's request to compete for France rather than Russia has been approved by the UCI.

The 24-year-old last week stated that he is "totally against war" following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Sivakov revealed he had already wanted to become a French national before Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to invade Ukraine and cycling's world governing body has now sanctioned his switch.

"I was born in Italy and moved to France when I was one year old," Sivakov said. "France is where I grew up and was educated and where I fell in love with riding my bike which led me to racing. It feels like my home.

"I have wanted to become a French national for some time and had made the request to the UCI, but given what is happening in Ukraine at the moment, I wanted to fast-track this.

"I want to thank the UCI and the team at INEOS Grenadiers for supporting me with this process and helping make this a reality. To now have the opportunity to race as a French national in international events makes me incredibly happy.

"It would be a dream to race in Paris at the 2024 Olympics for France and this is something that the team have said they would fully support.

"As I have previously said, I am totally against this war and all my thoughts are with the Ukrainian people. Like most people around the world right now, I hope for peace and a swift end to the suffering happening in Ukraine."

 

 

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